What other owner operators will not tell you when you are new.

He does???

 

So what you’re saying is, is that Jesse James used a gun to rob ya.

But Brokers, Insurance agents, and truck dealerships use a pencil…..?

Yea, guess I could see that….

 

Big companies don’t have higher paying freight, what they have is long term contracts that have a stable rate plus fuel surcharge. If you think those of us hauling contract freight were getting $4-5 a mile when you guys were getting it on the spot market you are out of your mind. But now that the market has changed the contracts do pay better than load board freight.

And if brokers are so bad then find a way to not use them.

 

You didn't come here and ask others opinion before you jumped in did you. Most opinions here are "don't do it, it's not as great as it sounds" every time someone comes saying they're thinking about going owner op. Thats not just because we "don't want the competition," but because we know the downturn is coming soon enough. Never fear, the rates you saw the last couple years will be back, in 5 to 10 years.

 

Huh, im still one of the newer O/Os here and my experince has been vastly diffrent then your own. Even when my truck was a rolling garbage pile one pothole away from turning into a crater. I am still here and making a decent living. But i also made sure i had an oh #### account and a steady reliable customer lined up for my unit before i went into things as well as a decent set of mechanical skills.

When freight was to the moon i was making considerably less then the O/Os who jumped in at the top because of my lined up customer. Now that freight is someplace where belrogs and dead dwarf kingdoms are common i make way more. The thing is many many many many many drivers decide "hay i drive a lot, and i have a ton of experince! Ima get a truck and be an owner! Be mah own boss and BE the man".

And then they go to do the barest amount of research with the minimum amount of skills, and rarely if ever have a customer ready to go..... and then go buy a truck expecting to be making the big bucks from day 1. And then......they always realize they missed a few dozen steps in between and are now hanging on by their fingertips. Does bad luck happen? Absolutely but most failed O/Os i see are the ones who rushed in without a plan or a half baked one. They buy the first truck with wheels that starts up they see that appeals to them or they can afford and they rarely have the mechanical skills to change a headlight godforbid work around issues. And then they rush in without a plan, without a customer and without a backup.

 

Confused about what?

What a broker is?

I know what a broker is.

I also know I am making money and my drivers are because of what we know.

Not all are, there are a large number of brokers who are honest, the problem is they don't deal with a cold call or post a lot of work on load boards.

They use what is called networking, this is like all other kinds of service businesses, and it isn't something that is easy. It takes time and effort to be part of one.

I don't think so, I am not the one telling people it is great to get into this as an owner when the driver is desperate to make the big bucks. I am the one who said don't do this without precautions, educating yourself or having the proper amount of money in the bank.

MOst fail because of a short list of reasons, one is attitude.

I don't see it in their about that they are an insurance carry, I know they do offer insurance but proper insurance isn't cheap.

Yeah, and? They make money off of their advertisers too, more than the insurance cut.

Win what?

Do I get a new truck?

You don't get what I'm saying, so ...


OH and a last thought --- with the vast amount of information on this site, if anyone with an open mind, asks questions and reads the posts for a while, maybe 6 months worth, they should not fail. This site has some of the most important advice anyone could ever get but I am going to be brutally honest about this - many ... too many people come here with the only reason to qualify their asinine idea and ignore most of the advice given by those who have lived the problems. They always fail, they waste a lot of time and money and a few may have come back here and blamed everyone for their failure.

 

Welcome to business..replace trucking with any other industry and you could name a mile long list of bs to put up with in that industry.... Like the old saying goes.. If ya cant handle the heat then get out of the kitchen